Wind Facets
by SunshineandDaisys
Summary: You keep running, Sasuke. Yes, I know you said you were done with that. But look at you always ready to bolt, constantly in doubt. Don't you know that some things come to you? Like what? Well, there's life. Are you willing to be still for that?
1. A Nuisance

**Disclaimer** I own _Naruto_ like Al Gore owns the Internet.

**A/N **So here it is, my first _Naruto_ chapter fic. (grin) I'm very in love with Sasuke (just like 99.9997 of everyone else) and his story, because we relate a lot - how we deal things and the things we deal with. I just really wanted to personify him with personal experience and get in his head more. Sounds fun, right?

Four things to know about this fic before you read it:

1 - The italicized bits before each chapter are lyrics from the song _My Sacrifice_ which is sung by Creed. It's such a beautiful song, and it fits Sasuke wonderfully. Just know that this is not a song fic. A few of the lyrics will appear at the beginning of each chapter, but just to narrate (sort-of.)

2 - The title for each chapter will complete this sentence: "The wind is..." I'll give the title for the next chapter at the end of every new one so you can try to guess what it's going to be about. Isn't that exciting? On the edge of your seats now, right?

3 - I'm not following the manga or anime when it comes to Sasuke's... whatsit, completely. It's the same basic idea, but it's happening how _I _want it too. (lol) **Definitely some spoilers, though **, so if you have no idea what I'm talking about, I wouldn't go any further. Unless you like to ruin things for yourself, in which case, by all means.

4 - So, originally I hadn't been planning to post this until it was entirely done. But this chapter has been written for quite some time, and I just wanted to put something out there because I haven't posted in a while. Kind of just to say that yes, I have been writing, I'm not just saying that. And also to say that I will continue to write fanfics, probably until I'm eighty, because it's something that I like to do. Updates won't be super-duper fast (are they ever? eh heh), because I do have some other priorities, sadly. Like a job. And SAT studies. And being sick, apparently. (sneezes and whines) But just know I don't do the whole "hiatus" thing. If it's posted, it's always being written and re-written and re-written and... well, you get the idea.

A big thanks to SkItZo-FrEaK, Nadyell, Rayemars, Leanne Ashley and several other authors who've inspired me to write this. They write approximately twenty-million times better than me, so it'd be a _sin_ not to go read their stuff. Really. (nod)

Enough talking - go read now! Off with you! (shoos)

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From the time I was old enough to understand the word 'useless', which was not a two-digit number in my household, I knew there were a lot of things to be classified under it. Toys came first to my understanding - then came people, parties, and even family, in some cases. Some thoughts were also 'useless', like the ones about the opposite sex. And childish behavior, that was just annoying.

Eventually, only a few things weren't useless to me: training, loyalty and knowledge. Later, I would add 'retribution' to this list, but that was it. Nothing else qualified; everything else seemed wasteful.

It was several years after my childhood ended that I realized I'd missed something in my world analysis. Surely that couldn't be possible since I'd already processed all I saw, touched, heard or thought. But this thing was easily missed; it was so insignificant that I'd never even considered it before. The wind - for thirteen years of my life, it never once crossed my mind. Its strange now that it should mean so much to me.

When I realized that it had evaded me so long, I was instantly annoyed with it. And my frustration only grew as I thought about the wind. It made me cold, it ruined stealth operations, it blew my bangs into my eyes - any possible worth it had seemed highly insignificant, considering it never bothered to be useful when I wanted it to.

So I filed it away deep within the confines of my mind, along with all those other worthless things. It was never to be thought of again as more than a fleeting annoyance.

Yet, here I stand, in complete contradiction of my entire world-view, enjoying the wind. It's cold out, and the plant life in this field has definitely seen better days. But the wind - it moves the grass, the trees, the flowers - as if they were alive again. As if this late autumn was not upon us at all.

The wind brings about... life. New life, not old and mundane. No. It's fresh and it breathes on its own.

And I see that now, so clearly. I ran from it, so hard, for so long, but they've shown me - _she's_ shown me - that it's okay to just be still for a while. To just be still and let the world move instead of you. So I do, and all those years of restlessness, those periods of despair... they blow away.

I can only silently marvel at how seventeen years of building up walls around myself could crumble in a month. One! Just one! But I don't resent it; it's a part of me now, and I guess I owe it all to 'useless' things...

----------O----------O----------O----------O----------O----------O----------O----------

**Wind Facets**

**By: SunshineandDaisies**

**Chapter 1: A Nuisance**

----------O----------O----------O----------O----------O----------O----------O----------

_Hello my friend, we meet again. It's been awhile - where should we begin? Feels like forever._

----------O----------O----------O----------O----------O----------O----------O----------

The half-empty, early Autumn moon shone bright and strong in Fire Country that night, but he couldn't see anything other than shadows and paling trees. His black-sandaled feet stopped on a branch just long enough for their owner to catch his breath, and then they pushed off again.

Anyone else would've landed themselves a concussion or a serious bump on the noggin, going at such a speed. But the runner had a native's understanding of this particular forest. His temporarily red eyes also aided in his lack of injury.

This man was younger than twenty, but older than sixteen. His years had blended together after a while with no calendars and hardly any seasons to go by. He wore nothing but black and silver - the silver being the many sharp, metal weapons he had on him. Black wouldn't have been his first choice, but blending in with every shadow was something he had learned to do years ago; it was camouflage or death where he came from.

Where he was going would be no different now, of course. He couldn't allow himself to be seen, not that that was a problem, it being second nature and all. The only person who would see him tonight was a woman he had known very briefly, a long time ago, who was also good at hiding herself. She was his only chance at normality now.

Yet he questioned that for what had to be the five-thousandth time. Was that what he really wanted? Normality? A once-glossy, rectangular paper hidden in his belt told him it was. But what did paper know, really?

Breaking from the darkness of the trees, he quickly found himself atop a tall stone wall, overlooking some empty streets. The man crouched down and surveyed the entrance of the city. It hadn't changed much; there were a few new paint jobs on some buildings, a new store on that corner.

He closed his eyes, filling his tired lungs with the woodsy-pure air. _Konoha._ The red taint in his eyes was gone when he looked out again. He didn't linger there; being caught wasn't on his 'to-do' list tonight.

Jumping lithely, almost casually, from roof top to roof top, he made his way silently to Hokage Tower. The familiar building was exactly as it had been. His eyes picked out the window he required instantly, and his feet deftly took him to it.

He knew there had been an alarm on the Hokage's roof - how could there not be? - so it came as no surprise when he entered the room that he was not alone. In all truth, he'd hoped for it to turn out this way.

"Who are you?" a voice called calmly from the dark recesses of the room. It sounded bored, but alert. _She must've been up late for business_, his mind assessed.

"Turn on the lights and see for yourself, Hokage."

There was a soft click from a light switch, and the room was illuminated. A pair of tawny-brown eyes narrowed at the black-clad boy.

"Uchiha."

He crossed his arms and nodded curtly, not bothering with courtesy. Tsunade was a woman of business not easily swayed with pretty words. Not that he had any to share, or anything.

The woman mirrored his stance, tilting her head in a haughty sort of way. She was dressed as if it were daylight business hours instead of one AM. That furthered his hypothesis of the Hokage working overtime, which was something to be noted, if his memories of her renowned laziness were correct.

"What are you here for, Sasuke? Got some vengeance to inflict on me now?"

"No," he answered sharply, disliking her condescension. After a pause, he added, "I want to come back."

Her calm expression caved, and she started forward. "What does that mean? Is Orochimaru--"

"--dead. As of a year ago."

"By whose hand?" Her attempt to recover herself worked - save for the sadness in her eyes.

"Mine."

The silence slipped in abruptly, unsettling them both. It was a while before Tsunade could speak again. When she did, her voice was once again stable.

"And what of the rest of Sound?"

"When I left, they had a fire problem. I haven't checked back in since then." His ego smirked, but Tsunade didn't think this was amusing or impressive in the least. In fact, it seemed to make her angry.

"I assume your return means that the Akatsuki is missing someone fairly important, mm?" It was like trading blows. He'd killed her ex-teammate, and now she had brought up his brother.

"You can't miss anyone if you aren't alive." His answer was flat, but it took a large amount of effort to keep it that way. More than he wanted to admit, or likely ever would.

The Hokage pressed both wrists over her eyes and sighed. Then, running a hand through the length of her bangs twice, she gave him a very scathing look.

"You left the Leaf four years ago to train under an S-class criminal so that you could gain enough power to kill your brother in revenge for his homicidal treachery against your clan." She took a breath. That was quite a statement she'd made. "During this time, you may have gained and used this power with success, Sasuke Uchiha, but that's not all you've received. You warranted the title of 'Missing-Nin'. You were listed as an S-class criminal - because of your _sensei_ - not your own talents. And when you walked through those gates, you left more than a crying girl behind."

She paused and he stiffened, not expecting something so trivial from her. Her speech was insulting, albeit true. But it was that last part that caught him so off guard. It had sounded almost protective, even though it didn't make sense for Tsunade to know or speak of what had happened that night. He might have expected it from Naruto, but not the Godaime.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her warily._ Did the wench tell the whole damn village, or what?_

"You walked away from all your privileges," Tsunade continued. "Your right to come, to go, to wear our symbol, and even to** live**." Her voice became sharper, more bitter now. "I could take your life anytime, Uchiha. You know this, so why would you come back?"

"I don't know." And he didn't, though there was that one thing... "I have responsibilities to my cla-"

"You left those, too!" she snapped invectively. Lowering her voice, she added, "And if that's your only reason, then I'm afraid I don't sympathize."

Sasuke recognized the subtle shift in her stance; she really could start a fight at any time. _But she hasn't..._

"If you wanted to kill me, shouldn't you have done it already?"

Such a simple question created a lot of tension in her stare. It took an entire minute for her to arrange an answer she liked. and even then, she seemed to have difficulty getting it out. "I know two people roughly your age who would not appreciate me spilling your blood without a good reason. Apparently, being an S-Class Missing-Nin doesn't count for them. I believe in their judgment, and I owe one of them. Consider yourself lucky, Uchiha."

_Naruto and Sakura? Of course, who else?_

"So what will you do with me if you're not going to kill me?"

"Two lifetimes in prison are the minimum for mass homicide." Tsunade straightened from her battle-pose and crossed her arms. "The_ minimum_."

"I killed the two most wanted men on the planet!" he hissed, bristling angrily. "You've had people after them for years. Or at least one of them." Oops.

She had been on the verge of relaxing, he could tell, but this sent her into a whole other realm of 'pissed'. "What are you implying?"

"We all have our soft spots," Heshrugged and looked away, resisting the urge to smirk. He should've kept such a careless opinion to himself, what with her elite ability to kill and his lack of an inconspicuous escape route should he actually survive. But with all those cheap-shots she'd been taking, he couldn't help himself.

Footsteps sounded in the hallway, and Tsunade promptly forgot what she was on the brink of yelling. Someone knocked at the door. "Speaking of," Tsunade took a seat behind the desk to her left and gestured at the door. "Here's yours." Later, reflection would tell him that he'd skipped right into this one.

"Sensei, we've found the file." The exasperated tone of a young woman filtered through the door. "Can we--oof! Naru_to_!"

"Oh, she doesn't care," The door opened briskly and a blond walked in, carrying the same chaotic air twenty screaming children would create with him. "We're like family, this hag and... me." The last word came out quieter than the rest as azure eyes met pearly black. Then Naruto made a strange sort of choking noise, but otherwise seemed incapable of anything but staring. Quite a feat indeed.

The young woman outside the door who had just begun picking up the file that her friend has so unwittingly knocked from her hands paused her efforts. Slowly, she got to her feet and walked inside. The sight floored her so much, she had to grasp the door frame to remain standing.

"Sasuke?" she gasped. "You're... back?" For once, Naruto was speechless and she was the one asking dumb questions.

The man in question looked past Naruto's gaping visage to verify that this was indeed the "crying girl" he'd left behind - it was - and instantly started worrying about her traditional methods of greeting him. Again, reflection would show him that this was a stupid assumption.

"Yes." he said tersely, hoping she wouldn't pry. He glanced back at Naruto. "Stop staring,_ loser_."

That snapped him out of it.

"Yo-you!" The blond pointed an accusing finger at him, as if being Sasuke was suddenly a crime. Although he guessed that maybe it was, in a way. "You're here! You son of a bitch, you're freaking here! Why are you... _How_ are you..." He stopped talking, and they all assumed his mouth could no longer keep up with his thought process. After a few moments onf silent pointing, Naruto's hand dropped and hurt briefly encompassed his previously bemused gaze. "We... we came for you."

As quickly as he'd spoken, he shut up, pocketed his hands and stepped back - but not once looking away. Tsunade, who had been watching all this take place over tented fingers, took the opportunity to speak.

"Naruto, sit. Sakura, you too." She didn't say it, but the passionate glare sent Sasuke's way told him that if he sat, maybe he wouldn't be maimed. So the three took their seats: Sakura on the left, Naruto in the middle, and Sasuke furthest to the right. Each fidgeted with their clothing, and two sent furtive glances at their 'guest'.

Tsuande's eyes scanned the sight in front of her for some time. Finally, she sighed wearily and said, "Well, there you are, Team Seven."

The fidgeting stopped.

"My first choice in this whole matter would be to sentence Sasuke to death." The blond started forward in his seat until the Hokage raised her hand. "This is the custom! Don't look at me that way, Naruto." Tsunade reinforced this command with as much of a glare as she could muster, and he sat back stiffly. "As _legal_ and _justified _as this would be, I won't."

Sakura slowly let out the breath she'd been holding, releasing her grip on the armrest. "So, what will happen, then?"

Tsunade glanced at Sasuke - he was pretending to stare at the floor and not notice. "I suppose," she began slowly, turning back to the pink-haired girl. "that it's up to you and Naruto. By the way, boy, consider this 'debt paid'."

Naruto flashed a toothy grin and settled more comfortably into his chair. "That's what you get for losing so many games of poker in a row, hag!"

Sasuke's head jerked up and he gave them both incredulous looks. _My life was saved by a _card game. He snorted and looked back at the floor. "You suck at poker, Naruto."

"Yeah, well, she sucks worse."

"Apparently."

They both paused, and Naruto's grin became a smaller, more somber version. Sakura cleared her throat in the silence, saving them from the rapid retreat into their memories.

"What do you mean by letting us decide?"

"I mean exactly that, Sakura. If I can't kill him then I have nothing to do with him." Sakura frowned at that, but simply nodded. "He has to stay in an apartment assigned by myself and he will be under ANBU guard at night. During the day, he must stay with either you or Naruto. That time can be used as you wish. He'll be your responsibility."

"So we have to_ babysit _him?" Naruto jerked a thumb at Sasuke, who was now furiously thinking of ways to object and only making himself angrier by not finding any non-threatening ones.

Tsunade smirked. "In theory, I suppose you could say that."

Naruto pulled his thumb back and down his cheek, grinning again. He didn't say anything out loud, but he was obviously thinking of cleverly sadistic things to force Sasuke into doing.

"What do you think about that, Sasuke?" Sakura leaned forward in her chair and addressed him. He lifted a shoulder in response, still too irritated at Naruto and wary about her possibly still-existent feelings to answer. Her eyes narrowed slightly at this, but he didn't notice.

"Sasuke." He stopped contemplating genocide and glanced up at her. The glance lasted longer when he saw a very unfamiliar expression on her face. She looked... "Why are you back?"

...completely pissed.

"Why does it--"

"Because it does." She stood abruptly, the chair scraping roughly against the wooden floor as she did. Sakura bowed and muttered a shoddy excuse to Tsunade before leaving. The older woman sighed and slid one leg over the other underneath her desk. The only sound from the room for the next few minutes came from shuffling papers. Then Sasuke heard footsteps again.

"Hokage?" A silver-haired man walked into the room, his uncovered eye focusing instantly on his former students. "Sakura just rushed past and she said that--"

"As you can see, Kakashi, it's clearly true."

"Mm." The man crossed his arms but didn't say anything else. Instead, he leaned against the wall beside the door and stared blankly out the window.

Tsunade sighed largely and held out her hand to Naruto. "The file?"

"Oh!" Naruto slid from his seat and went out into the hall. He swiftly tucked all the fallen papers back inside their manilla casing, placed it all in her outstretched hand, and plopped back into his seat, making more noise than the average person would when seating themselves. Maybe more than the average orangutan.

Tsunade glanced inside the folder briefly, nodded, and dropped it onto her desk. "Go to Shizune's office," she addressed Naruto. "Ask her for a key to one of the 'spares', and then follow her directions. Take Sasuke with you. That apartment will be his home until I say otherwise."

Naruto nodded and stood. "Sure thing, hag." Somehow it wasn't insulting. He cast his gaze to Sasuke, and a pair of intensely dark eyes returned the look. The two nodded , and Sasuke pushed himself out of the chair. As he walked past, the Uchiha could feel more than one eye on him from his ex-sensei. He gave no inclination of knowing it.

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When Sakura had nearly run into him, Kakashi had been forced to grab her shoulders or collide head-on. He knew she was upset before she even looked up, but he couldn't imagine why.

"What is it, Sakura?" he'd asked gently, feeling that parental-like tug he'd had for the past five years creep into his brain again. She was holding herself together without any bravado. It wasn't often that things shook her nowadays, but at least she wasn't crying. Still, he was worried.

"He's back, Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke's back."

At that statement, he'd released her shoulders and looked past her face, almost expecting to see the boy standing there. As he looked, he felt Sakura pat his arm and continue her way home more cautiously than before.

Now he had seen Sasuke for himself, and any misgivings he had harbored were gone; the very instant he'd seen both boys sitting there, he had rendered him speechless. Somehow, he'd always expected Sasuke's return, even when it seemed completely impossible. There had been rumors recently about the fall of Sound, and just this morning he had overheard some talk of the Akatsuki being unusually quiet.

Kakashi had expected it, yes, but not tonight. It took some time to find his voice, and when he did, he discovered his mouth had gone dry.

"Hokage, are you going to let him live?"

Tsunade had been staring furiously at the file residing on the corner of her desk for some time now, but she spared the innocent pages and turned her animosity to Kakashi. Unluckily, he was the only possible victim left in the room.

"No, I just wanted him to have a good night's sleep for the ensuing showdown tomorrow at dawn. I've been practicing my kunai-slinging, I think I'll get him first."

The gray-haired man shifted his weight uncomfortably. Better to take the verbal abuse from an angry woman quietly than to say something unwise and be torched. Now wouldn't that make a lovely proverb? "So what is it you plan to do, then?"

"Let Sakura and Naruto find out the hard way about what kind of person he is, and then claim every right in the book I have to kill his ass. Simple, really, I just have to break all of their spirits first."

He didn't show it, but inside, he was greatly dismayed. "Why? I'm not suggesting you kill him, but--"

"Then what do you propose I do, Kakashi? Ask him pretty-please to never run off and betray our village again?" She shoved away from her desk and stood, slamming her hands on the wood and letting out a growl reminiscent of rabid wolves. "He's just like Orochi--_ exactly_--and I can't let him... I..."

She looked up at the jounin, pleading with her eyes, "Don't you see it?"

"No, but I can see how you would."

"Don't give me that, Hatake!" She beat the desk with her palms again for emphasis, creating hand-shaped dents this time. "I don't want to watch those kids go through what I did, and they're one misstep away from that road! But damn their stubbornness, neither of them will let me lift a finger without seeing the dead end personally." Tsunade paused, emitting a wavering sigh. "Plus, I promised Naruto I'd do anything for him in the world if he didn't tell everyone I lost those poker matches. I just never thought it'd be_ this_ important."

She stood slowly and placed her hands on her hips, stretching backwards and glancing into the darkness outside the window. "I can't forgive myself for this."

"He's not going to pull an Orochimaru," Kakashi said, staring out the window again and trying to ignore how suddenly she'd looked at him. "There's a fierce loyalty inside Sasuke that will always stay with us. Yes, his vengeance came first, but he has come back to us. Loyalty like that is a quality that your teammate never contained--"

"Get out."

Kakashi returned her pointed look with equal force. "As you wish. Goodnight, Hokage." He bowed and turned on his heel, mind reeling and face as expressionless as ever. Sleep was going to be beyond his reach for hours now.

----------O----------O----------O----------O----------O----------O----------O----------

"It's a good neighborhood," Naruto said as they reached the door to Sasuke's new apartment. He hadn't said a word since they'd left Shizune's office, and it had slightly perturbed his companion until he'd realized that he hadn't the slightest notion of what to say either.

Instead of formulating a reply, Sasuke simply shrugged and slid the key into the lock. Annoyingly enough, it stuck a little when he tried to pull it out. He soon found that the door also had an affinity for requiring too much force to budge. He hadn't taken one step inside, and he already hated it.

Naruto flipped on the light. The walls and carpet were butter yellow.

"It suits you," Naruto snorted. "It's very... obnoxious."

"Piss off."

"I would, but it looks like someone already has. All _over _the place."

Sasuke stalked inside and turned into the first room on his right, determined to leave the blond in the breezeway. But he couldn't get rid of him that easily.

"Well, look at that! The kitchen's blue!" Sasuke heard Naruto exclaim from the other room, accompanied with the door shutting in his wake. "It's a nice contrast to the shitty yellow, I think."

The Uchiha ignored him and continued frowning at the hopelessly small bedroom. Space wasn't an issue in Sound - he'd gotten his pick of any place in the village. And it didn't matter, really, but he couldn't help but think that even a hamster would turn its nose up.

"The whole place kinda matches," Naruto came to stand beside him, crossing his arms and doing his best imitation of someone who knew what they were talking about. "Might be a little cramped, though. I don't think you could fit a futon, a girl, and your ego in here without some of those little organizing cubes like Sakura has--"

"Go away, loser."

"Oh, yeah, sure." Eyes that cut even when he couldn't see them sliced through his skull. "And then what? You'll bolt?"

"I'm not leaving, but you are." He let his eyes meet Naruto's. It was suddenly suffocating to be here with him, and he knew it wasn't the room's fault. His companion had always had a way of taking up space and getting too close...

"Not until I know, Sasuke. Why are you back?" He was dead-set on getting an answer, Sasuke could feel it. But could he tell him, honestly, why he was back? It was an answer loaded with some very personal meaning. He refused to expose himself like that.

"Why does it _matter_?" Sasuke growled. "First Sakura's a nosy wench, and now--"

Naruto slammed his fist into Sasuke's jaw, having faked him out with his left and succeeded. The Uchiha stepped back, eyes narrowed fiercely.

"Answer the damn question and never insult her again!"

"It's because this is the only place left to go! Happy?"

"Is that it?"

"Yes, fucktard, now_ leave_."

Naruto rolled his eyes and re-crossed his arms. "You're not even sorry, are you?"

"No."

After a few moments of staring, Naruto stuffed his hands into his pockets. With nothing more than a disapproving glance, he left the room. Sasuke leaned his head lightly against the faded-yellow wall, copying Naruto's hand-in-pocket look, and listened for the door. It opened.

"You'll have to have a story for the hag in the morning," He heard him call. "After that, I'm parading your ass through the village."

_Wonderful._

The door shut.

After a few minutes, Sasuke left his new bedroom and peeked at the rest of the space. He found that the kitchen was indeed blue and compensated for the yellow at least a little. There was a blue bathroom left of the kitchen, a straight shot from the front door, and a tiny closet in the kitchen he supposed would hold some food and a broom.

With a sigh, Sasuke utilized the bathroom, locked the door, flipped off the lights, and dropped onto the futon that had so kindly been provided. Reflection always found him at the end of the day, and now was no different. These thoughts always went back just far enough to dredge up some unhappy memories, making his sleep-life a nightmare. In most cases, literally.

So he'd taken care of Orochimaru and the rest of Sound. It was an absolute victory won in the dead of night, where his speed and stealth came together in a fatal way. Yeah, he was proud of that. The only hard part had been killing Orochimaru, and even then, it was easier than hadexpected.

But that was no surprise, since the battle he compared it with was the one against his brother.

It had taken months of painstakingly tedious planning and maneuvering to get in such a place, to obviate all the unnecessary extras, and to finally take down the man he hated most. Itachi had served him the most brutal and devastating blows he'd ever received throughout his life, both emotionally and physically. But that fight... that fight had nearly killed him.

Sasuke's eyes squeezed shut in remembrance. It hurt. It would always hurt. The look in his eyes in those last seconds, the blood that drenched them both, the sound of kunai-to-flesh...

To kill someone so evil, and so wicked from the core, was nothing to be ashamed about. But to kill your own brother, one who was once so filled with love, who was your sole companion throughout your only happy memories as a child, was to kill something deeper than flesh, even thicker than blood.

When Itachi's hand slipped from its icy touch on his brother's cheek to thud lifelessly on the ground, it had unknowingly ripped a slice of Sasuke's soul out, and clung to it tightly. As clean a cut as it might have been, the wound wouldn't heal. Of that, he was certain.

But even after that, after everything, all those pains paled in comparison to the aftershock - he was sick. Completely homesick. Orochimaru had forced him to become apathetic in his human connections, so unfeeling and cold that when the time came for him to give his life up, there wouldn't be much to lose. Nothing for the Sannin to battle and erase.

But that would never happen now: his teacher was dead, and all he had left was everything he'd pushed away. It came back in a rush, rocking him to the core with a strange sensation inside his chest that felt like he was being crushed from the inside out.

And that was it. He wanted home. Some peace, just a little familiarity, out of all things. Every reason he ever had to stay away from Konoha was gone now, and after laying low to lick his wounds for a while, he'd returned.

Sasuke opened his eyes and rolled over onto his back, grunting as he removed the weapons hiding uncomfortably in his clothes. The ANBU were no doubt already outside, dealing Old Maid on the roof or something. It was silly to keep all of his numerous comfort objects on him now. Just a few kunai, a shuriken, and...

His hand paused on the belt hook behind him. After a moment he undid it, slid it off, and dropped his back against the futon. It was unusual to hook a belt from behind, but his routine of slipping weapons on and off had required speed. After lots of trial and error, he discovered that the only way he could access the knives from behind and the smoke bombs in his belt at the same time was to have it backwards. This also served another purpose, however, one he kept confined solely to himself.

Inside the sturdy leather lining, just beside the buckle, was a pocket three inches tall and four inches wide. It was unethical to kill someone from behind, and even though Sasuke wasn't nearly naive enough to believe it couldn't happen, he knew it was less likely. Using that logic, whatever he kept in this pocket was bound to be safe so to be with him constantly.

After some practiced fiddling, Sasuke opened the pouch and carefully slid out its contents: a small picture depicting himself and the rest of Team Seven in the glory days.

Sakura was sitting right beside him, smiling victoriously at the camera for having finally got him in a shot. Naruto was behind them, poking two of his fingers over each of their heads like rabbit ears of disproportionate growth. Kakashi was on his other side, though not suctioned to it like Sakura seemed to be. He was leaning on a tree trunk, lowering the infamous book for once to look at the camera. The tree shaded them, little patches of light falling on their faces.

It was his favorite and only picture of them. The one that Sakura had made him keep - "for memories sake", she had insisted. She never could've known how tightly he'd clung to this picture that first year. How he never let it go outside of reaching distance, even after the pain had dulled. Leaving them had been harder than he ever thought. To think that it was pure accident he'd had it on him when he'd left was absurd. Without it, he would've had no comfort to speak of. Without it, he may not have held on like he did.

_They look so much better in real life_, he thought, trying to see them again in his mind's eye. He frowned, realizing Naruto was taller than him now by about an inch. _So much has changed... _

With a resigned sort of sigh, he carefully pushed it back into the belt and sealed it away. It was getting a little too worn around the edges these days. He needed to figure out what to do with the photo - frame it, maybe? - before it started evaporating. Kami only knew all of the elements it had been exposed to.

Just as his mind began to clear, Sasuke realized that the air had gone stale in the apartment and was then forced to get up and crack the window. A chilly little breeze shuddered the faded, navy curtains on its way inside. It made the room's only occupant shake a little too. He'd nearly forgotten Konoha's unpredictable temperatures._ Damn wind._

As he slid back into the futon and tried to pretend he was warm, Sasuke couldn't help but notice how loud the silence was.

_It's always been this way. It's _better _this way_, he told himself rather unconvincingly. The quiet was no longer his friend because the only way to fill it was with more retrospect - an idea he didn't anticipate readily. So instead, he concentrated on any sounds outside of the apartment's languor and pursued this task until he finally fell asleep.

That night, he wasn't alone in his toil. Four others sought and, only after much difficulty, found rest. When morning came, they all concluded it to be the weather's fault - namely the bitter wind that had finally blown in to signal summer's end.

----------O----------O----------O----------O----------O----------O----------O----------

**End A/N** Sasuke's BACK IN BLACK! (laughing hysterically) Sorry, I can't help myself.

Sooooo, what say you? I'd really like some good constructive crit. here. If you could add more than a "it was pritty god, sasuke and sakura shud liek hook up! update1!11" I will be forced to tackleglomple you endlessly. XD And ignore those ugly line-breaks. I think we all know ff dot net is being a loser about this right now.

The next chapter shall be: Drifting And Lonely

Make some guesses, and I'll be back soon! (blows kisses)


	2. Drifting and Lonely

**Disclaimer **Well, empirically speaking, perhaps... (is shot by the Copyright Rangers)

**A/N** Alright, so summing it up thus far: Sasuke's back, primarily because he missed the life he left behind in pursuit of revenge, but he doesn't want to admit it - hardly even to himself. Sakura is, apparently, still upset about his deception while Naruto seems to be acting slightly indifferent, at least, for the time being.Tsunade wants Sasuke strung up in the streets, but due to her love for Sakura and Naruto (plus that poker bet), she can't do it... yet.

So the question is: can our protagonist redeem himself, or will he be duck-taped and torched? Bum Bum Bum!

;D

Hope y'all like this chapter, cause I do. Although my opinion is somewhat biased... (hee)

* * *

**Wind Facets**

**By: SunshineandDaisys**

**Chapter 2: Drifting And Lonely**

* * *

_"Within my heart are memories of perfect love that you gave to me. Oh, I remember." _

* * *

"And then what? You 'massacred' the entirety of Oto by arson, and then..." She whirled her hands around each other, trying to beckon words from him. 

"I left."

"Oh, really? Was the trip nice? How was the weath - of course you left, dumbass! I meant, how did you leave? Where did you go? Was there anyone stopping you? Maybe an innocent bystander you had to _stab to death with a toothpick_-- " Tsunade had to stop for lack of oxygen in her lungs, but she made a quick recovery.

"I realize you're a bit more reserved than other people, Uchiha, but you can't be so blunt. This is a report, going safely down in the files until I drown the place with oil and toss a match. You have to give me at least some detail."

Sasuke was sitting in the exact same seat he had seven hours earlier, and he got the feeling that he had somehow been more awake then. Some people got exasperated easily when suffering from a lack of sleep - a prime example of that was the groggy, blonde-haired woman leering at him unpleasantly over her report. And yet other people, such as himself, were more prone to long periods of selective hearing and a craving for spicy foods.

"So?"

"So what?"

"Did anything happen? For the love of..." she trailed off, muttering angrily under her breath and scratching macabre-looking pictures on her papers.

"I stole an apple from a vendor in Water."

"That's nice. No toothpick stabbings?"

Did that require an answer?

"Shame," Tsunade muttered absently, scribbling down what they had just said. Halfway through it, the pen fell to the desk and she clutched her writing hand. "Cramps." she explained hastily. "I don't have arthritis or high blood pressure, okay?"

Sasuke raised his eyebrows in an uncaring gesture and glanced out the window. It was open halfway, allowing the sounds and smells of the streets below to filter in. _I smell ramen._ He wrinkled his nose and turned back to the apparently ambidextrous Hokage.

"So after fleeing Sound, you..."

The first part of the questioning went by quickly, filled with simple inquiries about his traveling and fighting. Yet when he came to the part about planning his take-down of the Akatsuki, she'd made him spill every drop of strategy for the records. Tsunade didn't ask for many details on the fight against his brother, just if he'd been successful in his plans. He was inwardly very grateful to her for sparing him the memories.

"You're some lucky bastard, Uchiha." Tsunade stated simply, dropping the pen and resting her chin in her palm. "From manslaughter, to theft, to premediated murder - and I can't even lay a finger on you."

A silent moment ticked by before she stood, shaking her head. "Naruto should be waiting for you downstairs. If you try to run, I'll have the ANBU chop off your toes."

Sasuke unconsciously curled his aforementioned extremities, nodded, and got up to leave. "I need tequila," He heard her mutter as he closed the door behind him. " _Shizune!_"

The dark-haired young man walked through the empty corridors, dodging the occasional door opening and trying to ignore the looks he received. The glances ranged from feigned indifference to wide-eyed shock. From this, he inferred that either the Godaime had only informed half of the village, or that half of them just didn't believe her.

Obviously, Sasuke knew everyone was in disbelief. That didn't mean he had to be happy about it. Would he ever escape all the attention?

"Oi!"

Sasuke inwardly cringed, immediately trying to step back around the corner and hide. It didn't work.

"You can't pretend you don't see me," Naruto said knowledgably, poking his head around the wall. "Or that you don't hear me, 'cause I know you did." The blond came to stand in front of him, crossing his arms with far too much self-importance for someone wearing so much orange.

"How could anyone not hear you?" Sasuke grumbled, glaring slightly up at his ex-teammate.

"My point exactly. Now, lets go. I'm dying for some ramen."

Sasuke wouldn't deign an answer for that, so he just glared and trailed along gloomily. They walked out into the busy streets packed with people and cut to the right, heading towards Ichiraku. The breeze was still a little chilly, but the sun was warm and the abundance of people created enough heat to hold off the need for a jacket.

Speaking of, he'd probably need new clothes soon. Most of his stuff was a pile of cinders back in Oto, after all. _I might have to go to the mansion-- _

"Hey bastard, you're gonna need new clothes, right?"

Sasuke frowned deeply. Were they actually thinking along the same lines? Kami, that was a horrifying prospect.

"There should be plenty in the old house."

Naruto snorted. "What, your brother's old stuff?"

Well, he hadn't thought of that. There was no way in hell he would--

Someone cleared their throat meaningfully behind him.

"So I see you are back, Sasuke Uchiha." It sounded unpleasantly like Rock Lee. The speaker maneuvered the crowd to fall in pace beside him: it was Lee. "I wish to say some things to you."

_Great... _

"First, I want you to know that I do not accept you as a fellow ninja any longer. And..."

There was a pause, so Sasuke narrowed his gaze to his side. "And?"

Lee frowned. Apparently, he thought his declaration should've had more effect. "And I do not think you should bother Sakura. She is a beautiful, talented, ravish--"

"Wasn't planning on it." He directed his eyes back in front of him. Lee stayed only long enough to nod, and then he stepped off into the masses.

"He still likes her," Naruto said, pocketing his hands again with a sigh. It must've become a habit, one that was annoyingly infectious.

"Obviously."

"And she still likes you." Naruto glanced at him for a reaction, turning back when he didn't get one. "She's never said it, though. I just know."

Sasuke didn't know how to answer that, only that he didn't want to, so he grunted non-commitally and picked up the pace. Naruto shook his head, but followed suit anyway, acknowledging that Sasuke still enjoyed his silences and clearly did not think much of the 'Sakura Issue'.

The respite didn't last very long for the Uchiha, however. Barely a minute had passed when he felt a penetrating gaze from a store front on his right. Sasuke didn't have to look to know who it was, but he did so anyway, just for a confirmation._ Hyuuga._

Neji was glaring at him - hard. Sasuke could only guess at the hatred he saw there, knowing it could've come about for a number of reasons. But he refused to get into another conversation with any of his old comrades; he just wasn't that curious.

Before they were out of his line of sight, Sasuke glimpsed Tenten bursting out of the doors behind Neji, grinning and shoving him lightly. Her smile diminished when he was unresponsive, obviously unhappy, and still glaring off into the crowd. The brunette followed his gaze out to Sasuke and then proceeded to shove the Hyuuga hard enough to startle him off the steps.

Sasuke turned away and closed his eyes then, refusing to acknowledge anyone else's presence 'till they reached Ichiraku. Once there, they took their seats and Naruto ordered some food. Truth be told, Sasuke hadn't missed the smell, taste, or even the sound of ramen cooking. In fact, he was fairly certain that if it hadn't been for Naruto dragging him here years before, he would've never had to_ know_ what ramen tasted, smelt, or sounded like.

_It reeks for miles_, he thought, stubbornly staring at the counter and still refusing to notice the world. The sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could convince Naruto to let him go somewhere to train. He'd missed that this morning, thanks to the Hokage.

"Hey, it's Sakura and Ino!" Naruto exclaimed beside him. Sasuke instantly snapped out of his thoughts and turned to shut the blond up. "Oi, Sakura! Ino! C'mere!" Too late.

Sasuke watched as the girls looked over and simultaneously glowered, yet still made their way towards Ichiraku. He slowly turned back to Naruto, wondering if it was at all possible to murder someone with a glare. He'd tried it before, but maybe this time...

"Hello, Naruto." Sakura greeted a bit stiffly. "Sasuke."

...nope. He turned his eyes from Naruto to the pink-haired chunin beside him, resigning himself to try the death-by-glare method again later with a little help from his fist. Sakura was looking at the blond like she had the same idea.

"Sakura." he acknowledged her briefly, turning back to face the kitchen with every intention of adhering to Lee's suggestion. But his ex-teammate seemed to have other ideas.

"Jackass." she growled.

Today was not a day for trying his patience, and it had already been pushed too far. His fingers gripped the bar so hard that his knuckles turned white, but he didn't respond. He would not start a fight with Sakura in Ichiraku his first day back, because that would be stupid, artless and something Naruto would do. No. No, no, no.

"So, Sakura, what're you and Ino--"

"Look at me!" she demanded, cutting her friend off as if he'd never spoken in the first place.

First with the Hokage, then Naruto, Lee, Neji... why couldn't everyone just mind their own business? He'd expected some retaliation, but this was nearing ridiculous! That was it, there would be no more shutting up. It was time to let someone have it, and Sakura seemed to be more than willing.

"Look," Sasuke pushed on the bar to swivel his seat toward her. "If you still have some kind of... _fixation_ with me, then--"

"What?" Sakura interrupted. "How dare you even--"

"Then leave me the hell alone." He sent a glare in her direction before turning back to the laminated bar, a bit unsatisfied by her mild response. He really shouldn't have been so quick to judge. A shifting of gravel behind him was Sasuke's only warning before he found himself being pulled roughly from his seat.

"Sakura!" Ino and Naruto chorused, the latter slipping out of his seat a little in shock.

"What in the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" Sasuke exclaimed angrily. Her forceful removal of his person from the stool had only been partially foiled by his reflexive movements. If he hadn't been so cooperative when she attacked, Sakura would've easily pinned him on the street - his face in the dirt and his right arm twisted painfully backwards.

But lucky for his dignity, that wasn't how it played out. Instead, the former teammates were locked in a rough stalemate, each gripping an arm of the other's.

"Let go, Sasuke."

"You."

Ino recovered from her shock, suddenly realizing how many people had paused to stare. "Both of you let go!" she hissed, adding her own steely grip to theirs in an attempt to force them apart, but having no such luck.

"This doesn't concern you, Ino," Sakura said, refusing to let go of her hold on Sasuke's arm or his eyes. "I'm a big girl now; I promise I can take care of myself."

"Oh, so you don't just stand there daydreaming anymore?" Sasuke sneered. "Did you stumble upon some talent recently?"

Her response was more of a growl than anything else. He wasn't entirely sure, but it sounded like she was telling him off in a more obscene way than before.

"Come on, Sakura, you know I could break your elbow any second now. Let go and save yourself some tears." Okay, so he really wasn't planning on snapping anyone's joints today. He just wanted to win, dammit!

Her green eyes widened in shock at his hostility, and Sasuke grew smug. But just as the smirk slid its way onto his features, Sakura narrowed her vision angrily.

"I will never - _never_ - cry in front of you, you miserable traitor!" Then she deftly swept his feet from beneath him, turning him so fast his head spun. He was actually more disoriented than pained, until she did exactly what he'd threatened to do moments before. He emitted an agonized sound of shock.

"Sakura!" Ino successfully pried her pink-haired friend away this time, throwing an astonished look back and forth between all of them. "You dislocated his elbow! Are you _insane_?"

Sasuke whirled on her, clutching his broken arm, eyes wild with rage. How in the world had she done that? "Bitch! How dare you--"

"How dare I what, Sasuke? Hurt you? Oh, Kami forbid." She pushed Ino away and took a step towards him. "You deserve so much worse, you betraying, loathsome, egocentrical failure!"

"Failure?" he repeated thunderously. "I accomplished everything I wanted. Just because I'm not begging for everyone's forgiveness doesn't mean I've lost anything, Sakura."

She laughed outright, surprising them all. Her laugh turned into a small fit, and she covered her face with her hands. Sasuke expressed revulsion at the situation. What was she laughing at? Maybe she was deranged, and he just didn't know it yet?

He watching Ino approach the hysterical girl cautiously. It wasn't until Ino grasped Sakura's shoulder that she stopped laughing; her hands slid away from her face to reveal tears, instantly unsettling him.

"I **hate** you!" she screamed, bringing about an abrupt silence from the entire crowd around them. Sasuke's heart stopped cold. All he could do was stare at her. Her voice was so... "I hate you and your obnoxious pride! But you're right, of course, as usual. You haven't lost anything, have you?" She shook her head, taking a deep breath. "You still have all of your selfish pride, Uchiha. But tell me this," her voice grew in volume. "Does that make you happy? Does it keep you warm at night remembering all the people you've stepped on to get here? Do you sit there in your beloved silence and smirk as you check off the list?"

Sakura was advancing toward him again, but he couldn't bring himself to back away. He'd never heard her like this before, and every part of him wished desperately for her to leave so he wouldn't have to hear it anymore. "What about all of the people you've left? Do you even care about us anymore?"

She paused merely inches away from him, shaking with fury and disbelief. "I_ hate_ you, and you don't care! You're not something great, Sasuke. You stand there so proud, so full of yourself - but you're nothing to me. You're not even half the man you could've been! I see you, and just to remember who you were makes everything inside me die a little."

Ino was trying to push the crowd away. The ramen cooks were staring out from the bar with wide eyes. Naruto was desperately trying to rewind the past five minutes to see how this happened. But Sasuke didn't see any of this.

Sakura's wrist slid across her cheek, making sure her cheeks were dry again, but her eyes never let his go. They held him there in all her grief and contempt. "You're disgusting." she continued quietly. "After all of this time, the only thing you have to say for yourself is that you got your dirty work done?"

Her palm connected soundly with his cheek and he let his head be turned away, glad that she had finally broken their eye contact. He refused to look at her even as she leaned up to his ear to whisper her last words: "I would've went to hell and back for you." Her breath hit his neck in a soft laugh. "And maybe I have."

It might've been the way she said it; the absolute pain in her voice made the situation suddenly, for what had to be the first time, very clear in his mind. Whatever it was, it convinced him: he'd really left them. All of them. They had trusted him, looked up to him, grew with him, and there had been genuine care for him, too.

All of the threatening remarks and despising eyes were because he'd cut them all when they were most vulnerable. Even as he'd left, Sakura had... she'd...

_Shit. _

Sasuke looked out again, but all he saw was the gap in the crowd where she'd left. Ino was gone, presumably with the pink haired kunoichi, and Naruto was sucking his teeth at the bar, watching him surreptitiously for any moves of escape. In fact, they were all watching.

"Fuck off!" he yelled at the bystanders, popping his joint back in place with a wince. Some of the older village women scoffed at his vulgarity, although most of the onlookers were ninja who'd heard plenty worse. But he didn't care what they thought. The only person he could attempt to wrap his mind around now was Sakura.

Angry and confused, he stalked back to Ichiraku and took a seat. The man behind the counter served them up their bowls, making sure to knock his against the counter hard enough to spill some. Still, Sasuke couldn't be bothered to care. Too many things were finally presenting themselves in his thoughts, things he knew he should've realized much earlier.

Yes, he'd been very aware that he had left them. He just had never taken into account that there were emotions involved since his were so locked up most of the time. It all ran so deep...

Once the crowd behind them was oblivious to what had occurred, and the chatter had reached a deafening point, Sasuke spoke again. "How long did she stay there?"

Naruto swallowed his mouthful of ramen, wrapping more noodles around his chopsticks. "All night," he answered shortly.

"Did she ever..." Kami, how could he phrase that question? "Was she alright...?"

Naruto looked at him, and Sasuke was aware that he wasn't exactly thrilled to be relating these particular events. "She cried on my shoulder for the first and last time that day. She was never 'alright', but she hasn't cried in four years... until today." The blond smirked a little, returning to his soup. "Y'know, if she hadn't hit you, I would've done it myself." He paused. "Again."

Sasuke glared at him, but didn't say any more. He was having too much fun replaying the events of the past hour in his mind.

Sakura hated him. What did that mean?

* * *

"Damn, that bruise is really ugly." A Naruto paused beside Sasuke, giving his arm a raised eyebrow. "Does it still hurt?" 

"What do you think?" Sasuke grunted, hoisting a wooden chair into the air with his good arm.

"Heh."

They were carrying a table and chairs from the Uchiha manor for Sasuke's apartment, along with some dishes, silverware, a sofa, two end tables, and some lamps. It would've been impossible to move all of it without Naruto's Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, and even still, they'd be making numerous trips.

Sasuke had been suspended from using jutsus upon his return, a little fact the Hokage informed him of as he was executing one on the training grounds. He wondered if this new rule was added because she forgot to mention it before, or rather that she had heard of his fight with Sakura earlier. The satisfaction on her face as she walked away left little room for doubt in his mind.

_Sakura... _

"Hey, I know she's pretty, but I've only got thirty hands here. So if you'd stop daydreaming for a sec...?"

"I am not daydreaming." Sasuke lied, berating himself internally for it, even though his thoughts weren't anywhere near romantic. He shut and locked the gate to the manor. When they began walking away, he added, "And if you're talking about Sakura, you're insane."

Naruto rolled fifteen pairs of bright blue eyes, sending mischievous looks the Uchiha's way. "No, actually I was talking about Tenten. But if you're thinking about Sakura, then..." he trailed off suggestively, and all of his clones snickered.

Sasuke replied with a cold look.

"You'll get over it." Naruto smirked. "Besides, you better not be thinking about Tenten. I think Neji would actually kill you, all previous death threats not withstanding."

This surprised him - the relationship, not the homicide. "Hyuuga and Tenten?"

"Yeah, they said it started a year and a half ago." Naruto paused. "Well, at least that's what they_ said_. I think it was way before that, but you know how Neji is - not gonna admit any weaknesses."

"He says she's a weakness?" Most female ninjas wouldn't like that, especially Tenten.

"Sure she is," Naruto shrugged. "Before, no one could really threaten Neji with anything. Now he's got her to protect. Not that it wasn't that way before, but it makes her more of a target. Although Tenten can kick serious ass, so he doesn't have to worry much."

Sasuke rolled the shoulder of his good arm: it was stiff from holding the chair so long. _Hyuuga in love? That's weird._ He made a face at the thought of Neji and Tenten being romantically inclined. Actually, the thought of any of the former rookies in a relationship made him feel a little queasy.

He wanted to drop the subject altogether, but Naruto was unusually interested in it.

"Ino and Sakura are really close again, since they don't have you to fight over anymore." Sasuke made a sound of derision at that. "But Ino and Temari are at each other's throats over Shikamaru."

"Nara?" Sasuke snorted.

"Yeah," Naruto grinned. "I don't get it, either. He is a Jounin though." The blond glanced at his ex-teammate. "Hey, have you re-taken the--"

"No." Sasuke cut him off. He_ really _didn't want to talk about _that_. Whatever ranking he was at, he wasn't sure - Chuunin at least. But without the official tests to say so, he was still considered a Genin.

"Ah, well, if you stick around, you can always retake them in the spring. They did winter and summer this year."

"I'm not leaving," Sasuke said, glancing up at his apartment and avoiding eye contact with Naruto.

"I'll believe that if you're still here at Kakashi's age."

"I want to die before I'm sixty."

Naruto laughed. "If he ever hears you say that, you will."

Sasuke smiled a little. When Naruto began to notice, Sasuke jerked his head up at the balcony and said, "Can you get up there with this stuff?"

"Of course!" Naruto looked at him as if he'd turned into a fuchsia cow. "I can shove a tree through a needle, what're you sayin'?"

The Uchiha just shook his head and walked up the stairs. "If you trip and crush your skull with the sofa, I'm going to laugh."

"I'll bleed on your carpet."

"Then it'll be orange." Sasuke grunted, balancing the chair in one hand and unlocking the door with the other. Part of him wondered why he bothered, it wasn't like anything was in there yet. _It must be a habit. _

"What's wrong with orange?"

Sasuke kicked his door - it opened with a loud pop. "Don't bleed on my carpet, Naruto."

"Yeah, yeah. Just hold the door open and I won't."

* * *

Somewhere around midnight, Sasuke lay on his futon staring at the picture again. It wasn't as hard to sleep that night; in fact, he was pretty tired. But he wasn't ready to close his eyes just yet. It felt like four years ago all over again - lying awake late at night, wondering _what _in the nine hells he was thinking. 

Then it had been leaving, and he'd done exactly that. He didn't regret leaving - no, it wasn't that. It was just the way he'd done it. He was definitely kicking himself now for leaving Naruto and Sakura the way he had. But that was how it always was, wasn't it? Thinking of the alternative a few months too late? Or years, as the case may be.

The logic in his head told him that it had been the only way, that he wouldn't have gotten anywhere if he'd been more sentimental. But the regards of his heart were tired of being pushed down, and he knew exactly what they were saying.

With a sigh, he sealed the photo away and turned over on his side. As his memories plagued him again, a rogue thought in the back of his mind drifted forward to briefly interrupt.

_What if I'd loved her back?_

But a brief thought it was as he squashed it almost immediately, throwing his thinking to the farthest corner of his mind, away from Sakura. It was a very strange corner, though...

* * *

_"Dude, you need new clothes." Kiba said with an ugly sneer. He picked up a ragged, pink robe from the floor. It greatly resembled a dog's chew toy. "How about this?"_

_"It compliments your eyes." Shino commented quietly from the corner of the room._

_"Pink will never look as good on him as it does on me," Sakura added, scowling in his direction. "But you can dream, Sasuke. You can--" _

"--dreaming?"

Sasuke sat up fast, reflexively flicking a kunai to the intruder's throat. He dropped it with wide eyes. "What are you doing in here?" he rasped. "How did you get in?"

"The door." Naruto answered cheerfully, clearly more amused than threatened. "You're jumpy these days."

Sasuke fell back into his pillow, rubbing his face to relax. There was nothing like cardiac arrest before breakfast to start the day. Some people liked orange juice, but he was always the over-achiever, now wasn't he?

"What do you want?"

"We're going to train."

Sasuke opened his eyes, staring at his palms for a second before dropping them. "Where? For what?" It seemed kind of pointless since he couldn't use chakra.

"Well, I have to keep up my schedule. Yesterday I slacked off to take care of you, but now you have to come to work with me, since Sakura would rather rip your fingers off than take you anywhere. Okay, junior?"

"You always slack off, _loser_."

Naruto poked him in the side with his foot and went for the door. "You get five minutes to put on your face, princess."

Sasuke sat up with a scowl, muttering degrading things about his ex-teammate. But less than five minutes later, with all his grumpiness intact, he showed up outside. The two set off for one of the many isolated training areas in the surrounding forest, checking themselves off with the ANBU before leaving.

"Just like Oto..." Sasuke muttered. Naruto's sharp ears caught it.

"What? They didn't like you there?" His voice was nonchalant, but there was an edge to the inquiry that Sasuke wouldn't place in mild interest.

"You shouldn't trust anyone." he answered shortly. 'Dislike' would not even begin to describe the aversion they'd had for him. But Naruto didn't need to know that.

"Yeah, well, you can trust that I'm about to kick your ass all over the floor!"

Sasuke sent him a sideways look. Had he honestly already forgotten that jutsus were taboo now?

"Of course, we'll be using taijutsu." Naruto continued, sidestepping a tree. The wind had grown steadily fainter since the previous night, nearly eliminating any cold it had brought in the first place. But as soon as the pair stepped into the shadows of the forest, the chill was back.

"You can't do taijutsu."

"Ha! That's what you think."

There was a moment of silence between them, and then Sasuke broke it.

"You really can't, can you?"

"Lee's been teaching me," The blond sighed. "He says I'm good, but I have to practice. I still bet I'm better than_ you_ ."

"I can do taijutsu." Sasuke stated bluntly, not elaborating the point. If the truth were told, he'd spent hours and hours practicing his speed and accuracy in taijutsu, but it always ended in frustration. It seemed the harder he tried, the worse he got. Eventually, he'd just summed it up to already being exhausted from his chakra-based training.

Somehow, they both knew this wouldn't end in triumph.

* * *

"There wasn't a 'winner', dumbass, shut up about it already!" Sasuke growled in exasperation on the outside. On the inside, he was consoling his wounded pride, telling himself that he had won, and that Naruto's jeering victory chants meant nothing. 

"Stop being such a sore _loser_, Sasuke." Naruto grinned. "You're just mad I kicked you into the tree."

That had hurt - a lot. But that wasn't the point. Or all of it, anyway.

"No, I'm mad that you can't shut your damn mouth."

Naruto flapped a hand at him and continued humming his victory song sans the lyrics. It was a small miracle that it hadn't stuck in Sasuke's head yet. He began tuning out the not-so-harmonious tune and focusing on the buzz of the crowd in Konoha instead.

"Man, I'm dying for some--"

"Say 'ramen' and die." Sasuke snapped, sending his best glare along with the threat.

"Since when do you hate ramen?" Naruto looked genuinely perplexed.

" _Always_. "

"Seriously?"

_No, I'm lying._ he thought sarcastically, opting to glower instead of verbally answer. The result was just as effective, however.

Naruto stopped in the middle of the street, nearly causing a woman to trip over her small child. She cast dirty looks at both of them as she walked away. "Then where the hell are we supposed to eat?" he asked, truly at a loss in the situation.

Sasuke gave him a dry look. "There are other places."

"_Like where?_ "

"Like there." He pointed out a small stand selling bowls of flavored rice. "And there." He pointed at another stand, selling kabobs. "Or there. There, there... and the--"

"Okay!" Naruto growled. "We'll eat something else other than ramen, dickhead!" He began stomping off in the direction of some food stalls, leaving Sasuke to glare daggers at his back. Was it so much to ask for a little nutrition in his life?

* * *

The knucklehead finally decided on a random indoor cafe, squished between two large apartment complexes in the heart of the city. A wealth of people rushed around them, fighting through the crowd to get their errands done. Some scuffles broke out as the pair walked into the eatery. 

Sasuke exhaled slowly, happy to be out of the noise. Back in Oto the population had been small, to say the least. And he was hardly ever out of the intimate group of psychos that made up Orochimaru's favorites, anyway. Konoha was exceedingly bigger than he remembered.

Naruto snatched a menu from the bar, roving his eyes over it until... "Aha! They have ramen here!"

Sasuke stole the menu from his ex-teammate. "So that's why we went to five other places before this."

"No! ...that one place stunk like coffee." He wrinkled his nose in remembrance. "Nastiest stuff on the planet."

_Go figure_, Sasuke mused, scanning the menu in his hands. _The ball of energy doesn't like coffee. _A bittersweet sort of happiness tugged at his lips then. He'd missed this, hadn't he...?

"--just shove me out of the way, Sakura. Don't worry if I get trampled by the wild townsfolk."

A familiar giggle sealed in Sasuke's already trapped attention. _Damn it all. _His stare intensified on the words "chicken fried", unable to read any further.

"I'm sorry, Ino. I didn't realize it was you that I pus--"

"Right, right." the blonde cut her off. "I see how it is. Our friendship must mean so much to..." She paused meaningfully. "Well, damn."

Sasuke's dark eyes rose above the menu with a hybrid of agony and sheer disbelief. One thing he definitely did not miss were his run-in's with Sakura. They'd only gotten more violent with age, it seemed.

A pair of caustic, glaring eyes settled with his. Tension seared the air, causing the old men to pull away from their card games and stare._ Great_ .

"Why..." she began and suddenly cut herself short. Her mouth worked for words, but no more came. The Uchiha smirked at her.

"How unfortunate, you don't have anything left to say. I'm sorry to hear your silence, really, I am." Kami, could he not lay off the sarcasm for two seconds? He knew that wasn't the way to end this. Too bad his mouth was working apart from his brain again. La la la, _crap_.

"That is hardly the case, dickhead!" What was that, insult of the day? Sakura crossed the remaining distance between them angrily, stopping just short of touching him. "I simply have more class than to constantly yell at you." she hissed. "But for the past two days, you've just kept pissing me off!"

From the corner of his eye, Sasuke watched Naruto roll his eyes and go back to the menu. Ino looked similarly annoyed, but neither appeared worried like before. He assumed they'd just come to the conclusion that whatever harm he and Sakura inflicted on each other, they probably deserved it.

"When did you get so mouthy?" he asked, turning back to her so bluntly she flinched a little.

"Since you gave me reason to be!"

He scoffed. "Why do you use _me _for an excuse to all of_ your_ problems?"

Again, her mouth opened and shut without a sound. This time he didn't comment on it; instead, he scowled. They were far too close for his own comfort. After a beat of terribly awkward silence, Sasuke took her shoulders and pushed her back. It wasn't a hard shove - although it easily could've been - so he couldn't understand why she acted like he'd just stabbed her.

"Don't touch me!" she practically screamed, gripping her shoulders and giving him a look of pure hatred. Now it was his turn to flinch. Those eyes would haunt him tonight.

"I didn't hurt you." he growled, trying, and failing, not to notice the attention they'd garnered themselves again. "Stop showing up where I am, and we won't have these... these problems!"

"How?" she asked, the ferocity in her eyes dissipating rapidly.

"It's a big city," He leaned back, crossing his arms. "You'll manage."

"You think I plan these things? Kami, you're such a bastard."

Naruto looked up at the familiar insult just in time to watch Sakura turn away, yanking Ino out of the cafe by her elbow. Sasuke closed his eyes, silently praying, to anyone who might hear it, that he wouldn't see the pink-haired kunoichi again anytime soon.

"C'mon," Naruto thumped his shoulder. "Order something already. I've got homework-training to do when we're done here."

The Uchiha grunted and intentionally picked the first thing that said "brief wait" in the description.

* * *

As the days passed, Sasuke was finding it much easier to adjust than he thought he would. All the furniture he could (and wanted to) salvage from the Uchiha Estate was lying around his apartment, waiting for a little dusting. He'd gotten some new clothes, enough to last him through the winter. Some of them were actually _not _black. 

Naruto was constant company, which he only really minded when he had to sit on the sidelines and watch his friend execute massive jutsus for "homework". The Hokage made it a point to remind him of his restrictions whenever they crossed paths.

It was frustrating, being around so much power and not getting to exercise off any of his own. But rules were rules, and he had to stick with Naruto every waking moment, unless he was confined in his apartment. At times, that was almost more appealing. It was either ten thousand eyes staring at him, or four walls, making sure he was very aware of how empty his living space was.

_So empty_, Sasuke's thoughts murmured around in his mind. _Freezing cold, too. _

It was nearly midnight, and the apartment was as dark as it could be with that annoying street lamp just outside his living room window. The Uchiha's deep, unyielding eyes stared down at the table beneath his finger tips for a long while. Usually, he'd be asleep and not caring about the idiotic placement of the lamp, or how chilly it was.

Yet for some reason, he just couldn't keep his eyes closed. The previous nights had been filled with his past, so much so that he could barely get his mind to shut up and let him have some peace. As strange as it was, those grim memories gave him enough familiarity to relax and sleep. But tonight, they eluded him, and Sasuke found himself restless.

When he tried to recall something to "soothe" him, he only came up with one memory.

_"I _hate_ you!"_

_"I would've went to hell and back for you... and maybe I have." _

He hadn't seen her in person since three days ago in that cafe, but her furious eyes echoed on and on in his mind. It was true - he'd asked for her silence. But he hadn't really expected it. No, not at all. Although he should've known better.

Sakura wasn't as doormattish as he remembered. Instead, she was loud, very opinionated, and almost freakishly strong. It took a lot more than a simple tug to pull him from the bar at Ichiraku. Years of defense training, the refinement of his hair-trigger reflexes, and any preconceived notions he had of her having the guts to do that to him - not even counting the ability - had shot up into the clouds, laughing at his misfortune.

A smirk passed across his lips as he walked slowly around the table, aiming for some high-backed chairs.

Sakura Haruno was truly something to behold now. His absence had made whatever affection she'd had for him twist and defile itself inside of her, forming actual hate. And it was fearsome, it really was, especially in her eyes. Her strength, her hatred, and her... her beauty.

Sasuke's fingers followed the smooth, curved carvings in the chair without a thought as to what he was doing. Every part of his mind was caught up in his former teammate, trying hard to fit what was her five years ago with the... woman she was today.

Her hair was so _long_, nearly reaching her thighs, even in that braid. Those eyes that held so many emotions now - had they always been that green? He wouldn't even begin to think about the rest of her physical changes. Alright, he might begin to, but he couldn't get any further than her height. It just felt... wrong.

A frustrated sigh escaped him, and he sat in the chair he'd been admiring mindlessly. He dropped his head into his hands, running his fingers over his scalp. Why was he suddenly regretting almost everything he'd said since his return? When had the great Sasuke Uchiha, infamous avenger, ruthless killer, _ever_ thought twice about his actions?_ Had he_?

_"Stop showing up where I am, and we won't have these... these problems!" _

He groaned, looking up at the barely distinguishable walls of his kitchen. Regretregretregret. This was new... and he despised it. But what could he do? Apologize to her? Ha! At this point, it probably would've been easier to revive Itachi for a sparring match.

Sasuke flinched at the notion. _Now I'm getting morbid._

"I want to see her." he realized quietly. A short, bitter laugh rang out. "I actually miss her." This shouldn't have been so funny, but now he was genuinely laughing. Sasuke stood up and tried to shut off the masochistic-humor synapse in his brain. He halfway succeeded, and decided that maybe having a grin plastered on his face was good enough for now. He'd solve his sentimental issues in the morning.

Walking to his room, Sasuke checked the front door for the eighth time and tugged off his shirt. He tossed it onto the dresser that, by no small miracle, he and Naruto had managed to cram in his room. It landed right next to his belt... ah.

"Is it really that simple?" he wondered softly, picking up the strip of leather and removing the hidden memento. For the third time that night, amusement found him. But it was small and short-lived, because he didn't want himself thinking he had it all figured out. After all, that's what got him into this mess to begin with.

* * *

"You've got to what?" Naruto asked distractedly, staring intently at the checkerboard before him. He and Konohamaru were playing checkers to decide who would be the next Hokage: best out of seventeen.

"I've got to give someone something."

"Right."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and stood up. He'd already sat through three of these mind-numbing games. There wasn't a chance in hell he'd wait for another one to be over. But at least the breeze had still been slight, so he wasn't suffering from the cold.

"I'll be right back, okay?"

"Strawberry."

He narrowed his eyes at Naruto's strangely focused persona. _I don't even want to know. _

Taking his chances, Sasuke slunk away from the park and headed into the city. It felt odd, being by himself amongst all these people again. Truly, he hadn't been alone since he'd stepped foot into Tsunade's office. He doubted that the ANBU weren't following now, either, but he didn't care. He wasn't going anywhere near the gates.

From a few carefully posed questions this morning in-between games, Naruto had given him enough information to find their former teammate. She worked at the hospital from six in the morning until lunch. After that, she was training with her sensei, the _Hokage_, for a few hours.

That had thrown him slightly outside of immediate thought retrieval, giving Naruto enough time to initiate another checkers match, much to his consternation.

This meant they'd all been taught by the Sannin, the most legendary trio ever created. That was... strangely a comfort. It was a connection they had managed to make unintentionally, miles and years apart. Sasuke had narrowed his eyes at the sidewalk beneath his feet then, realizing that this explained Sakura's phenomenal strength, and in all likelihood, her teacher's instantaneous desire to smear his kidneys on the wall.

Another half-hour passed before he got the rest of his information. Sakura's training lasted until two or three, then she was free to do what she pleased. Usually, she went home to freshen up, and then spent the rest of the day socializing or sneaking in extra training while Tsunade was busy at work. Naruto had scowled when he said this, muttering something about how many times he'd told her not to.

Sasuke walked out of the crowd, diverging to the right along an alley he was fairly certain led to the back of the hospital. After a while, the tall building appeared over the rooftops between the lines of laundry. He looked back to the murky puddles on the ground with the barest hint of a smile. _I still know how to get around._

When he was two seconds from stepping out of the alley into the lawn behind the hospital, Sakura's voice reached him. She sounded frustrated, but for the first time since he'd returned, it wasn't directed at him. He took a quick peek around the corner, just long enough to glimpse the Hokage staring down at her student, who, strangely enough, was wearing an evening gown.

"Sakura," Tsunade sighed. "You've just gotten back from a mission and not only is it against the rules for you to practice medicine, it's completely insane for you to want to!"

"But I like my work." the pink-haired kunoichi defended. "And that was hardly a mission! Two days at a luxury hotel, dressing up in these--" there was a rustling of fabric and some annoyed grunting "--these abominations, just to lure what's-his-face off the top of the hotel? I mean, I only pulled out a kunai once!"

" _Sakura._ "

It was the student's turn to sigh. "Alright. I'll go home and rest."

"Good! Now, if you'll excuse me Sakura, I have some business to attend to in the hospital. Dying civilians and stuff."

"Sure, Tsunade-sama."

Footsteps sounded, and Sasuke risked another look. The Hokage was walking away while Sakura pulled her hair into a braid again. The instant Sasuke emerged from the shadows of the alley, she stiffened.

After a brief pause, just long enough for Sasuke to lean against the brick building beside him, Sakura resumed her weaving. "Are you stalking me now?" Her voice was calm, but jagged with frustration at the edges.

"No."

Sakura turned to him fiercely. "So you just happened to be walking through some back alleys, _by yourself_, and you thought, 'Hmm, maybe I'll drop by the hospital for no apparent reason. The Hokage works there, she would surely be happy for me to grace her with my unsupervised self.' Then, you conveniently ran into me. Is that it?"

She was obviously still unhappy with how her day was turning out. Frankly, he would've been too. Anything he said would result in fury - he was almost positive - and since he didn't have much time for verbal sparring, it was probably best to keep his answer short. "No."

Sakura's eyes became nothing more than vicious slits, and suddenly, two kunai were headed directly for his eyes. He knew she'd throw them, and she probably knew he'd dodge. She growled when he caught them easily between his fingers, yet she let it go. Not just the menacing growl, but the whole argument.

Her eyes closed tightly as she held out a hand, obviously trying her hardest to will away any emotion. "Throw 'em back."

The Uchiha did as he was told, flinging the weapons back to their owner. He watched her slide them back into the holster on her thigh, wondering briefly how she managed to get them so quickly in that floor length evening gown. Must've been a kunoichi thing.

"Are you going to tell me why you're here, then?" She wasn't biting back anger anymore, just the exhaustion sweeping through her system. She could spin it off any way she wanted, but Tsunade was right: missions took their toll. The traveling, the secrecy, the acting - and then the kill. Plus that always-interesting escape, which nine times out of ten never went as planned.

He wished that today had been just a normal day for her at work. Then the added stress wouldn't be there, drowning them both in irritable self-consciousness until any move they made sent something just short of ballistic missiles exploding around them.

"I'm not here to fight." was his eventual answer.

"I gathered." Sakura looked up at him, crossing her arms and doing her best to look just as indifferent as he did. But just that movement set off more explosions within their six-foot radius, making nonchalance seem positively ridiculous.

Sasuke couldn't keep the facade up anymore. He'd come here to make her understand. To say things he didn't want to so that maybe - _maybe_, oh, how he hated that word - she wouldn't hate him anymore.

So with a punctuated sigh of frustration, he shrugged off the wall and slowly made his way closer to her. It was like approaching a gazelle in the middle of a mine-field; every step, every breath - it was so hard not to turn tail and head back to the park for another good ol' round of checkers. If Sakura had bolted, he would've too.

He came to a stop before her, every part of him screaming for escape. _I have to make this stop. _It would've been slightly easier if Sakura hadn't looked so damned okay with it. _She's not even reacti--_ Her foot slid backwards an inch, hardly noticeable if you didn't know her very well. But Sasuke caught it easily, knowing that she wasn't as comfortable as her steady eyes implied.

Such talented liars they had become.

They stood like that for a while, letting the grass grow, scrutinizing every inch of the other with their eyes. Finally, Sasuke opened his mouth. "I don't want it to be like this."

"Like wha--"

"You know what I mean, Sakura." he cut her off. "I can't change what happened, and I don't want to. It had to happen. I had to go." He paused. "_Alone_."

"No." Her fingers gripped her arms tightly. "No, you didn't."

"How can you say that? You aren't me, you don't underst--"

"I know what loss is, Sasuke." she snapped. "I know what it's like to lose people you love. I knew it before you left, and I sure as hell know now. We could've helped you. Naruto, you, and me. We could've done it."

Sasuke was unsure of how to respond to that. He knew what he wanted to say, but he didn't know how to communicate it. When he didn't offer anything to her remark, Sakura dropped her gaze to the ground. This was the first time she'd truly dropped her guard around him. So much hurt, so much ill-will in just her stance...

"You're such an..." She looked around, struggling against her emotions for a coherent insult that would accurately describe her feelings of hatred for him. "...an unbelievable... impossible..."

"Look at me." His eyes were begging her, but she didn't see.

"I can't." Her voice was weak.

"Look at me, please." His voice might've been weaker than hers.

Tears were welling in her eyes, even though she was desperately trying to stop them. "Sasuke, don't. I can't!"

"Why?" he asked, genuinely upset that she wouldn't look at him. Ah, there it was. That squeezing pain in his chest again. Why did this have to be so hard?

"Because." Sakura dropped her voice so low he barely caught it. It was more of a choke than an answer.

"Stop avoiding it!"_ Don't yell, don't yell, you're not going to control yourself if you do_... "Because why?"

"Because you _broke _my _heart_!" she cried, looking at him suddenly. Her eyes widened as she realized what she'd said, but the truth didn't startle him. It was just that pain, that incredible anguish she let slip again. No one was so cold that they couldn't feel the raw emotion in that.

"I didn't want to hurt you." Sasuke admitted to the pebbles beneath his sandals. "But if I'd stayed, things would've gotten worse."

"You left us for Sound." she said brokenly. "You betrayed us. How could it have been 'worse'?"

"You and Naruto would've helped me." He looked up at her again. She was confused.

"How can you say--"

"What if Orochimaru came and destroyed the village? What if my brother came and killed you both?" His voice almost cracked from the strain of keeping it down. "Can you think, for _one _minute, that I didn't think about it? I was young, not stupid." He took a shaky breath, calming himself.

"Sasuke..."

"I never stopped wishing I was different. That things weren't happening the way that they were." His eyes bore into hers. There was no way he'd repeat this ever, ever again. She better be listening. "Every night I thought of you. Of you, and Naruto, and this village, and my _life_. I hid it when I had to, and I was damn good at pretending I didn't care. But I did. And I... I do."

Sasuke took one of her wrists and pressed her hand against her wet cheek. "Stop it." he admonished quietly.

After a moment, he stood back and pulled out the picture. Sakura looked between his face and the paper multiple times, clearly astonished. Hell, he was a little amazed himself; had he actually said all of that?

"Don't think that I don't care." he said softly, giving her the photograph. She took it wordlessly with a trembling hand. "This is everything I have left... I won't find you again."

Before he even knew what he was doing, he had turned around and made it halfway back down the alley. There he stopped and threw a hand out to brace himself against the heartache that was surely coming. And it did come, but it was acute. After a shuddering breath passed through his lips, he straightened up.

How was it that she affected him like that? She tore up everything in him with just one look. His earth rocked with every word she said. It almost made him ill to think of her, with all that exploding tension mingling with the bitter sadness. Physically ill; she actually made him physically ill.

_Maybe it's over now_, his thoughts consoled him as he continued back to Naruto. _Whenever you see her again, maybe, you'll both have moved past it all. _

That line of thinking was no solace. He despised uncertainty just as much as he despised regret.

* * *

It was early, he could tell. Sasuke slowly opened his eyes, glaring at the brightness streaming through the crack in his curtains. Why was he awake?

There it was - knocking on his door. Well, it wasn't Naruto, that was for sure. The blond was always letting himself in without any cares about privacy or the usual lack of daylight in his morning entrances. Sasuke was an early riser, but Naruto's morning intrusions were seriously throwing him off.

Pushing himself out of bed, he pulled a t-shirt over his head and stumbled to the door. He twisted the lock and opened the door gruffly. His eyes widened slightly as he saw Sakura one foot in front of him, withdrawing her hand sheepishly.

"Sasuke?" she inquired as she clasped her hands. "Did I wake you up?"

He grunted, letting his hand slide away from the door and back to his side. She winced a little and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry about that."

She didn't say anything else, and he sure as hell wasn't about to offer any small talk. There was a reason for everything Sakura did, it'd always been that way. Showing up at his door this early was not just a casual sidetrip.

When she began eyeing the cracks in the cement, he sighed in irritation. While she was always purpose-driven, she'd never been this quiet before. It bothered him that she was being unpredictably weird.

"Sakura?"

The kunoichi snapped to attention. "Yes?"

"Why are you here?"

Sakura opened her mouth, paused, then began smiling. "To fix things."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes warily.

"I've always wanted you back," she began. "I just never wanted you to change. To see you there in Tsunade's office was too much for me. I didn't accept that it was really you standing there in front of me; I didn't _want _this--" she gestured at him "--to be you. But then you said three or four words, and I knew it was true."

Sakura shut her eyes and took a breath, seemingly preparing for war. Or maybe a colonoscopy.

"So then I started behaving like a three-year-old, broke your arm, and proceeded to publically humiliate all of us more than once. I'm really sorry for that." Her eyes were back on him. "I want things to be better between us; better than when we were younger. Will you meet me halfway with this?"

_Oh. She wants to be... friends. _Sasuke looked over the balcony behind her. "You came all the way here at five-thirty in the morning to tell me that?"

"Hey, you were always up early when I used to know you! And I thought you might enjoy a Naruto-free morning for once. I won't make you eat ramen for breakfast, I know you hate it."

When she "used to" know him, huh?

"And besides," she added slyly, looking at her fingernails when he turned to her. "Naruto said you behaved better when you got all three meals at the proper time. And that when you took your naps, you liked to have a warm bottle of--"

Sasuke slammed the door in her face and stalked back to his room.

"Don't be so dramatic, I was only teasing!" she called, hardly containing her amusement.

The Uchiha could only growl at her as he ransacked his dresser for some clean clothes. On his way to the bathroom, he threw open the front door and gestured her in. "Sit. Wait."

"Yes, sir." Sakura mock-saluted his retreating figure and sat in one of his wooden chairs. When the Uchiha returned, he had to pause a moment at the sight of Sakura admiring the same chair he had earlier. She looked up at him and smiled softly.

"You look more awake."

"Hn."

And that was all they said until they reached the market. Sakura had her heart set on fresh fruit and pastries for breakfast; he found that he couldn't complain. Some of the vendors did double-takes at the sight of them walking together, but he and Sakura were the epitomy of nonchalance. They weren't trying to cause a rukcus this morning, even though they did garner some attention.

As they passed Tenten purchasing some apples, she covered a smile by tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. Lee was with her, but he didn't object to the sight of them either. To Sasuke's inner surprise, he elbowed Tenten and began speaking on the beauty of youth as if they weren't even there.

It was strange being the center of attention without all of the badgering. The pink-haired kunoichi seemed to bring things down a notch in the chaos department; she was making things seem just a little more normal. True to form, the wind was back to its usual annoying self. It blew steadily across the town, forcing the donning of a coat again.

Sasuke looked over at his companion quietly for a minute. She was busy counting the produce in her bag, making sure she hadn't been jipped. It wasn't hard to be next to her like it had been. The air was relaxed - maybe a little reserved, but definitely carefree.

His eyes found the road before them again with a softer light; it was nice to be in such understanding company again.

* * *

**End A/N **Sorry for the wait on this chapter, but any of you who've went through SAT hell before should understand. The rest of you, well, it's coming. (lol) I was completely brain-dead for months! Gah. The third chapter is going to be a bit of a wait as well, simply because of the major turn I have to write. I just have to make things difficult for myself, don't I?

And just to answer the question HPBabe91 asked in a review for _AVIC_, _WF_ is only going to be 8 chapters long. That's it. No more. It's all planned out and everything. I aim to have it done by the start of next summer, which sounds like a long time away, but this thing is a freaking monster to write! This chapter alone was 10,000+ words! o.O

Now, so everyone can start guessing, the next chapter is named:_ Kicking Up Dust._

Leave me some reviews if you love me (or hate me, I guess), and Merry Christmas! (:


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